Anna Quindlen '74 featured in The New York Times' "By the Book" column

April 22, 2013

In The New York Times' "By the Book" column, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and past chair of Barnard's Board of Trustees Anna Quindlen '74 answers questions about her reading habits. An excerpt:

"What’s your favorite book of all time?
That is so exactly like being asked which is your favorite child. “Middlemarch,” because I think of it as perfection, although I am not as enamored of Eliot’s other work? “Bleak House,” because I’ve learned so much from all of Dickens? “Pride and Prejudice,” because I’m thoroughly satisfied every time I finish? Too tough to declare a winner.

Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).
I can read almost anywhere: subway, plane, car (although not while I myself am driving). But I have a big chair with an ottoman in a corner off the living room, and that’s probably where I like to read best, usually in the evenings, sometimes on paper, sometimes on iPad. I acquired that chair specifically for purposes of reading and the little table next to it specifically for the putting down of a book."